Parental Technoference and Behavioral-Emotional Development in Early Childhood: A 6-Month Prospective Study

Starting soon

Conditions studied: Parental Technoference, Child Behavioral Problems, Emotional Development in Early Childhood

In brief

This study aims to examine the relationship between parental technoference (parents' use of smartphones or other digital devices while spending time with their children) and behavioral and emotional development in early childhood. The study will include parents of children aged 24 to 60 months who attend a pediatric outpatient clinic. At the beginning of the study, parents will complete an online questionnaire that includes questions about their own smartphone screen time, their child's screen exposure, and standardized questionnaires assessing parental technoference and children's behavioral and emotional characteristics. Six months after the initial assessment, parents will be contacted again to complete a short follow-up questionnaire, including the behavioral and emotional assessment. The study does not involve any medical intervention or experimental treatment. All participation is voluntary, and responses will be collected anonymously. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of how parental digital device use during daily interactions may be associated with children's emotional and behavioral development in early childhood.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT07387133
Run by: Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi
People needed: 250
Starts: 2026-03-01
Expected to finish: 2026-12-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-02-04

Who can join

Age: 2 and older, up to 5. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

Children aged 24 to 60 months.
Parent or primary caregiver able to read and understand Turkish.
Parent uses a smartphone and can access device-based screen time information.
Ability to complete an online questionnaire.
Provision of written informed consent by the parent or legal guardian.
Availability for a 6-month follow-up assessment.

You may not qualify if…

Children with severe neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, severe intellectual disability, neurometabolic diseases).
Parents unable to reliably complete questionnaires due to cognitive, psychiatric, or language-related limitations.
Parents who do not use a smartphone or cannot access screen time data.
Refusal or inability to provide informed consent.
Inability to be contacted for follow-up assessment.

Where it is running

Sancaktepe Prof. Dr. Ilhan Varank Training and Research Hospital — Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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